Items tagged with bloatware

Bloatware, Bloatware, Bloatware! We all hate bloatware. And with the exception of a few companies like Apple, Motorola, and Google (with its Nexus devices) there aren’t many ways to avoid factory- or carrier-installed bloatware without rooting a device. One of the biggest offenders in years past has been Samsung, and the company is feeling the heat for its obnoxious behavior from the Shanghai Consumer Rights Protection Commission. The commission’s secretary general, Tao Ailian, fingered not only Samsung, but also Chinese OEM Oppo Electronics for egregious behavior when it comes to pre-installed...Read more...

Lenovo had a rough go of it over the past few weeks. First, news broke that Lenovo had installed Superfish (widely regarded as adware) on some of its notebooks. As public outcry mounted, Lenovo offered a public apology and provided customers with instructions for removing Superfish. But all the negative publicity isn’t Lenovo’s only headache now: someone claiming to be a customer affected by the software has filed a lawsuit against Lenovo in California. And, they’re aiming for class-action status. The plaintiff in the case is Jessica Bennett, who suspected that her...Read more...

In many smartphone reviews here at HotHardware, we've said we wish carriers would leave bloatware off of the phones or, at the very least, allow users to uninstall the bloatware. It appears Sprint has heard our (and many others') request. The new HTC EVO 3D from Sprint actually lets users uninstall many (but not all) of the programs that come preinstalled on the smartphone. What's even better is that this is not an oversight on the part of Sprint or HTC—it's intentional. In fact, it appears that Sprint intends to allow bloatware to be uninstalled from future Android devices as well. We can...Read more...

In this episode of Two and a Half Geeks, Dave, Iyaz, and Marco discuss the new Dell Streak 7 Android-based tablet and Seagate’s 2TB Barracuda Green SATA 6G hard drive. We also talk about HotHardware’s open letter to system builders regarding bloatware, in addition to the plethora of announcements from HP’s event where the company unveiled the 9.7” TouchPad Tablet with WebOS 3.0 and the WebOS 2.2-powered Pre 3 and Veer smartphones. Of course, we also plug the current contest as well... Show Notes: 00:44 - Dell Streak 7 Android Tablet Review 03:50 - Seagate...Read more...

We're not quite sure what to think of Best Buy's new Software Installer. On one hand, this connected desktop application helps eliminate the unwanted bloatware that generally comes on new PCs, something we've mentioned time and again that we don't appreciate. On the other hand, the electronics retailer's Software Installer is another program that will come pre-installed on your PC or notebook (if you're buying it from Best Buy). One of the somewhat useful features of the Software Installer is that it will manage electronic purchases. In other words, any purchase made through Software Installer...Read more...

People were up in arms when Sony announced its "Fresh Start" no bloatware option - because Sony wanted to charge $50 for it.Starting on Saturday, Sony's Fresh Start software optimization feature will be free, the company announced.Fresh Start is a Sony feature that lets customers buy certain laptops without so-called "bloatware," trial software that laptop makers often load onto new machines. Sony was asking buyers of the Vaio TZ2000 and Vaio TZ2500 notebooks with the Windows Vista Business OS to pay $49.99 for the removal of the extra software. Those customers already pay an additional $100 to...Read more...